I am a Tax Partner in WithumSmith+Brown’s National Tax Service Group and the founding father of the firm's Aspen, Colorado office. I am a CPA licensed in Colorado and New Jersey, and hold a Masters in Taxation from the University of Denver. My specialty is corporate and partnership taxation, with an emphasis on complex mergers and acquisitions structuring. In the past year, I co-authored CCH's "CCH Expert Treatise Library: Corporations Filing Consolidated Returns," was awarded the Tax Adviser's "Best Article Award" for a piece titled "S Corporation Shareholder Compensation: How Much is Enough?" and was named to the CPA Practice Advisor's "40 Under 40."

In my free time, I enjoy driving around in a van with my dog Maci, solving mysteries. I have been known to finish the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle in less than 7 minutes, only to go back and do it again using only synonyms. I invented wool, but am so modest I allow sheep to take the credit. Dabbling in the culinary arts, I have won every Chili Cook-Off I ever entered, and several I haven’t. Lastly, and perhaps most notably, I once sang the national anthem at a World Series baseball game, though I was not in the vicinity of the microphone at the time.

Golfer Phil Mickelson May Call It Quits Due To Climbing Tax Rates

JANUARY 20: Phil Mickelson hits his second shot on the tenth hole at the Nicklaus Private Course at the PGA West during the second round of the Humana Challenge. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Word is, Phil Mickelson is mad as hell about rising tax rates, and he’s not going to take it anymore. What follows is a brief portion of an interview Mickelson gave earlier today after carding a final-round 66 at the Palmer Course at PGA West in La Quinta – which I assure you, is not associated with the La Quinta next door to your local Denny’s – in which the golfer hinted that he is considering drastic career changes because of a combined tax rate nearing “62, 63 percent:”

Q. When you’re asked about Stricker’s semi-retirement, with the political situation the last couple months, blah, blah, blah, what did you mean by that? Do you find it an unsettling time in a way?

PHIL MICKELSON: Well, it’s been an interesting offseason. And I’m going to have to make some drastic changes. I’m not going to jump the gun and do it right away, but I will be making some drastic changes.

PHIL MICKELSON: I’m not sure what exactly, you know, I’m going to do yet. I’ll probably talk about it more in depth next week. I’m not going to jump the gun, but there are going to be some. There are going to be some drastic changes for me because I happen to be in that zone that has been targeted both federally and by the state and, you know, it doesn’t work for me right now. So I’m going to have to make some changes.

To be honest, it’s hard to blame Mickelson – who has compiled a net worth approaching $180 million by repeatedly striking a tiny white ball until it falls into a hole — for putting all options on the table, which according to some, include the possibility of prematurely shutting down his career to avoid his rising tax burden. Let’s take a look at what Mickelson is up against in 2013:

For starters, courtesy of President Obama’s re-election and the subsequent fiscal cliff negotiations, Mickelson will experience an increase in his top tax rate on ordinary income from 35% to 39.6%, and an increase in his top rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends from 15% to 20%. Clearly, when faced with tax hikes of that magnitude, it stops making economic sense for Mickelson to continue to swing a metal stick up to 70 times a day in exchange for the $48 million he earns on an annual basis.

But it gets worse. Thanks to the expiration of the temporary 2% reduction in the payroll tax rate on the first $113,700 of self-employment income, Mickelson will have to fork over an extra $2,274 in tax during 2013, an additional burden that makes it hard to justify briskly walking as many as five miles per day, four days a week. In long pants, nonetheless.

And then there’s the impact of Obamacare. When you consider that from now on, Mickelson will be liable for an additional 0.9% tax on his self-employment income and 3.8% tax on his net investment income after each exceeds $250,000, what’s left over from the multi-million dollar endorsement deal requiring him to sport a Rolex watch while playing private courses in exotic locales hardly seems worth it.

If you think perhaps Mickelson is being a bit of a baby for threating to end a career that’s earned him a spot on this list of 10 wealthiest athletes on the planet because of some tax increases, understand that he’s getting hit on the state level, too. In November, California passed Proposition 30, which increases the top income tax rate on resident millionaires to 13.3%, a drain on Mickelson’s take-home pay that may force him to sell his 9,500 square foot mansion and flee his home state in search of more friendly pastures.

Should Mickelson follow through on his promises, he is fortunate that there is no shortage of countries across the globe that offers an opportunity for a man to earn exorbitant riches by playing a game. But I, for one, would encourage Mickelson to stay the course, continue to fight the good fight, and hire a savvy tax advisor. He shouldn’t have to look too far; after all, one of the sponsors that paid Phil an estimated $44 million in 2012 was KPMG.

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Gary, unfortunately many people believe it is greedy to work hard and be compensated for taking risks. A rational person, in this case Mickelson, should decide if they should stay in California (or another high tax State)or move to a state that is a better fit for them. I applaud him for mentioning his thoughts publicly. Most people would simply move to another State, if that is what he ends up doing, and not say a word. It seems odd that some people are taken back by anyone that makes sound financial decisions.

“For starters, courtesy of President Obama’s re-election and the subsequent fiscal cliff negotiations, Mickelson will experience an increase in his top tax rate on ordinary income from 35% to 39.6%, and an increase in his top rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends from 15% to 20%. Clearly, when faced with tax hikes of that magnitude, it stops making economic sense for Mickelson to continue to swing a metal stick up to 70 times a day in exchange for the $48 million he earns on an annual basis.”

sounds like greed to me. for years he has made good money and now he has to pay more taxes he wants to call it quits.. if he makes 50 million at the end of the year and 50% goes to taxes,,,whats the big deal? he will still be making for money than over 90% of the people make. If you just hate the gold game now,,say that not blame it on taxes,,,i’d take home 1 year of his salary over the crumbs I made my whole life

We’re all slaves now on Obama’s tax plantation. You can work anywhere you want, but when the government can force you to work more than 6 months a year to pay for politicians’ vote buying schemes, you’re a slave – no matter how much you manage to earn for yourself in the remaining months of the year.

The Real Split in America is being caused by these typically jealous, envious, covetous, grasping, greedy, invidious, malicious, spiteful, begrudging, jaundiced, intolerant, and resentful losers who make up the demoputrid party, liberals, leftists and socialists who just hate successful people because they themselves do not have the skills, talents, smarts or work ethic to earn it themselves .. You losers just want Daddy Government to make up for your wretched lack of any work ethic at all .. And so it goes ..

Instead of cute jabs about swinging a golf ball, the writer should have totaled Phil’s estimated state and federal tax liabilities to demonstrate is current – fair share! If I was Phil, I’d make a one year political statement and “Shrug” this year.

Don’t be so negative on Phil. He still does and has always given a lot of money to charities and works with charities to raise money. His comments are not different than what thousands of others are doing but not saying. He is just looking at his options. There are many wealther people moving out of places like California and New York and worse, moving their business as well. Look at Al Gore. He did everything to sell his station in 2012 to beat the tax bite. The reality is liberals think youi can raise taxes to increase revenue. That wasn’t Obama’s goal. There was no impact on the deficit. He did that to penalize and for spite. He also knew it was a hot button for so many who are envioius. In fact, often the increase of taxes will effectively reduce revenue. For California, their increases will drive business to more attractive locations. Obama and the Democrats want to limit deductions for charitable contributations. That will have a huge impact on those organizations that rely on them. The administration thinks they can do a better job of doling out money to the needy than those many charitable organizations that help them. Horray for Phil. At least he had the guts to explain why he was thinking of leaving CA or leaving golf. He is still my favorite golfer and I admire all he does for the game and the charities he works with.

BTW… for those who say, “I would be more than willing to be in his position and give more money to taxes, blah, blah…”. Then offer up your hard earned money now. You can’t say what you would do in his shoes because you aren’t. I’m willing to bet you would make business decisions based on changes in tax laws.